Prevalence of cutaneous hypersensitivity to Aspergillus fumigatus in patients with asthma in the central part of Karnataka and its impact on asthma severity

Bondade K, Ajit E, Raikar PS, Srinivas K, Banur A, Angadi S

Pdf Page Numbers :- 183-187

Kushal Bondade¹, Ajit Eti1, Priyadarshini S Raikar^1,*, Srinivas K¹, Anup Banur¹ and Siddarth Angadi¹

¹Department of Respiratory Medicine, SS Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Davanagere, Karnataka 577003, India

*Corresponding author: Dr. Priyadarshini S Raikar, Assistant professor, Department of Respiratory Medicine, SS Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Davanagere, Karnataka 577003, India. Email: priyadarshinisr26@gmail.com

Received 8 January 2025; Revised 5 March 2025; Accepted 13 March 2025; Published 18 March 2025

Citation: Bondade K, Ajit E, Raikar PS, Srinivas K, Banur A, Angadi S. Prevalence of cutaneous hypersensitivity to Aspergillus fumigatus in patients with asthma in the central part of Karnataka and its impact on asthma severity. J Med Sci Res. 2025; 13(2):183-187. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17727/JMSR.2024/13-32

Copyright: © 2025 Bondade K et al. Published by KIMS Foundation and Research Center. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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Abstract

Introduction: Severe asthma is particularly linked to atopic conditions, especially to mold allergens like Aspergillus fumigatus. Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis is an immunological lung disorder, with initial phase of hypersensitivity to Aspergillus (AH). This study aimed to assess Aspergillus sensitization among asthmatic patients through cutaneous hypersensitivity testing at our tertiary care center in central Karnataka.

Material and methods: This hospital-based cross-sectional study included 100 asthmatic patients attending the outpatient department at SS Institute of Medical Sciences, Davangere, Karnataka, from 2022 to 2024. Patients with acute exacerbations, COPD, bronchiectasis, recent antihistamine use, or pregnancy were excluded; asthma was diagnosed as per GINA guidelines using clinical history and spirometry.

Results: In our study we found that the prevalence rate of AH is 22% in asthma patients diagnosed by skin prick test (SPT). The most common symptom among the patients with AH was cough (100%), shortness of breath (95.5%) and wheeze (86.4%). Patient’s with AH had more severe asthma (p<0.001), cough (p=0.04), shortness of breath (p<0.001), wheeze (p=0.017) and night awakenings (p = 0.003) compared to patients without AH, which were statistically significant.

Conclusion: Cutaneous hypersensitivity to Aspergillus fumigatus was found in 22% of asthmatics. Early detection and targeted management strategies for patients sensitized to Aspergillus fumigatus can potentially improve disease outcomes.

Keywords: asthma; Aspergillus hypersensitivity; skin prick test; Aspergillus fumigatus